Reversible engine starter gearing



March l, 1960 J.J.SABAT1N| 2,926,531

REVERSIBLE ENGINE STARTER GEARING Filed oct. 25, 1958 Z7 We W6 M 1 Maas 5 im zz l l I 6 *"4 I I 2 a iff/a2;- V15 il lli-)ce 2 1;

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. REVERSIBLE ENGINE srnn'rnn GEARING l. I ohn .1. Sabatini, Horseheads, NKY., assigner toBendix I Aviation Corporation,

rationkofiDelaware lglrnira Ijieights, NX., a ycorpo- -Application October 23,1958-, Serial. No. 1769,245

A Clems- .toen-a The present invention relatesto reversible engine starter gearing and more particularly to a'drive of the automatic United i.States Patent 2,926,531 Patented Man 1, V1960 14, and in V'engagement with the flange 9"o'f "traversing member 8.f The elastic member' 13 is maintained` under in' ial compression by a lock ring 15 swhiclrli'etains the traversinfg'member 8 in thezbarre'l 45.

traversing typeV which is operable in .either directionof i ,i rotation. Y

The rapid growth of outboard marine engines both in quantity andsize has c ausedpanemand for suitable elecc n tricalstarting equipment.` In order to obtainmaximum- M n powe`r A per pound Weight of the unit, it is common to use two-cycle engines and since such engines are generally reversible in operation, a further economy has been sought by taking advantage of this feature to eliminate the necessity for reversible gearing to the propeller to assist in maneuvering. This, of course, requires starting mechanism adapted to initiate rotation of the engine in either direction. Y

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel reversible engine starter drive which is effective and reliable in operation and simple and economical in construction.

It is another object to provide such a device which embodies a pin and slot connection for traversing a pinion into and out of mesh with an engine gear and for rotating the pinion to crank the engine.

It is another object to provide such a device which is substantially a self-contained unit readily assembled on the shaft of a starter motor.

It is another object to provide such a device incorporating means which is effective in either direction of rotation for cushioning the initial operation of the drive.

It is another object to provide such a device having means for preventing the pinion from rebounding toward the engine gear when it is thrown out of mesh when the engine starts.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly broken away and in section of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing the parts in normal or in idle position; and

Fig. 2 is a detail in side elevation of the anged tubular traversing member.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing there is illustrated a power shaft 1 which is shown as the extended armature shaft of a reversible electric motor 2. A pinion: 3 is slidably journalled on the shaft 1 for movement Vinto and out of mesh with a gear 4 of the engine to be started. Means for moving the pinion 3 into mesh with the engine gear responsive to acceleration of the power shaft in either direction of rotation is provided comprising a barrel member 5 which is slidably journalled on the power shaft 1 and is provided with V-shaped teeth 6, arranged to cooperate with similar teeth 7 onthe adjacent end of the pinion 3. The slope of the teeth 6, 7 is such that the pinion may overrun the barrel member 5 in either direction of rotation, but when the members are pressed together by the transmission of torque from the starting motor, the teeth transmit rotation to the pinion without slippage.

, the drive is assembled ony the shaft. c,lylearxrs for normally maintaining thev ,drive lin idlevpositionis provided comprising anV abutment collar' 21 iixedly A pin 16 rigidly muntedin thepowershaftvl and A, the traversing ymember 8 vis formed witha spiralI slot 17 slidably receiving Athe projecting portionof said pin. The vvslot 17 isgbeint backI on itself to providea V-shaped confformatiori, the apex 18 of which receives the pin 16ffwhen the driveris in idle position.V The slot is arranged v,to run out at 19 in .order to permit pass age of the pinf16lwhen located on the power shaft by means of a lock ring 22, and an anti-drift' spring- 23 located between the'collar 21 and pinion 3. The collar and pinion are counterbored as indicated at 24 and 25 to receive the ends of the antidrift spring and to house said spring and permit the pinion to abut against the collar 21 in order to define its meshed position.

In order to prevent any possibility of the pinion being thrown back toward the engine gear after being demeshed therefrom the angle between the arms of the V- shaped slot at its apex 18 is made in the neighborhood of a right angle. The rotation of the traversingfmember on the power shaft is thus arrested by engagement of the pin 16 against the opposing wall of the slot beyond said apex, which is substantially normal to the path of travel of the pin and consequently causes little or no tendency for the parts to rebound toward the engine gear. In operation, rotation of the power shaft 1 in either direction will cause the pin 16 to move the traversing sleeve 3 to the right from Vits idle position carrying with it the barrel 5 and pinion 3, compressing the spring 23 until the pinion engages the abutment collar 21. Further rotationof the power shaft causes axial pressure to be exerted yieldably by the elastic member 13, compressing the pinion-between the toothed ange 14 and the abutment collar 2.1 whereby the pinion is caused to rotate and crank the engine.

When the engine starts, the acceleration of the pinion 3 by the engine gear is transmitted to the barrel member 5 causing it to be traversed back to idle position by the pin 16. The overrunning of the traversing sleeve on the shaft 1 is prevented by the engagement of the pin 16 against the side of the slot beyond the apex 18, which, as above pointed out, is substantially normal to the relative movement of the pin 16 in the slot during the demeshing movement. The pinion, however, is free to overrun although the teeth 6, 7 of the barrel and pinion are yieldably held in contact by the anti-drift spring 23.

Although but one form of the invention has been shown and described in detail, changes maybe made in the design and arrangement of the parts witho-ut departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a reversible engine starter drive a power shaft, a pinion slidably journalled thereon for movement into and out of mesh with a gear of an engine to be started, a barrel member having a clutch connection to the pinion, a tubular member slidably journalled on the power shaft having a splined connection with said barrel and having a V-shaped spiral slot, a pin xedly mounted in the shaft traversing said slot, and means for yieldingly transmitting the longitudinal movement of the tubular member to the barrel.

2. An engine starter drive as set forth in claim 1 in which the apex of the V-shaped slot is pointedtoward vthe pinion, and defines the idle position of the tubular lsaid pin.

4. An engine starter. as set forth in claim 1 in which one arm of the V-shaped slot is extended to run o ut of the tubular member to permit entry of said pin.

5. An engine starter drive as set forth in claim 1 in which the clutch connection to the pinion comprises means forgtransmitting rotation in either direction from the barrel member to the pinion when the pinion is in meshed position,^but is arranged to overrun in either direction when the pinion is in idle position.

6. An engine starter drive as set forth in claim 1 in which the clutch connection from the barrel member to the pinion comprises cooperating obtuse angled V-shaped 25 teeth on the engaging surfaces thereof.

7. An engine starter drive as set forth in claim 1 including further an abutment fixed on the power shaft in the path of the pinion to define its meshed position, and in which the clutch connection from the barrel to the pinion is in the form of a dental clutch adapted to overrun in either direction, and said yielding means is in the form of a cylinder of elastically deformable material in the barrel, said tubular member having a ange splined in the barrel and arranged to compress said cylinder and thereby cause the barrel to press the pinion against said abutment and transmit rotation thereto in response to acceleration of the power shaft in either direction.

8. An engine starter drive as set forth in claim 7 including further a compression spring between the pinion and said abutment urging the pinion toward idle position, and maintaining the pinion in engagement with the barrel member.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,416,905 Stoeckicht May 23, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS 942,369 l France Feb. 7, 1949 866,742 Germany Feb. 12, 1953 

